Where Did We Go Wrong UNDERGOING HEAVY REWRITE
by RNichts
Summary: Some wounds heal. Some wounds... leave a scar. Jaune understands that clearly. When someone important to him is on the verge of destruction, will he run away again? Or will he keep his promise? This is an alternate look on how Jaune turned out after the death of Pyrrha. Contains romance, violence, swearing, and angst (just a little bit). Rated M for safety (just in case).
1. Prologue

Author's Note:  
Dear reader,

I hope you enjoy this story. If you have any reactions/comments/reviews, PM me or comment what you think. Oh yeah, I don't own RWBY.

*Raises cookies* Here's to a wonderful story. :)

Yours truly,

RNichts

Prologue

It felt great to be alone for once. These past few weeks have been a blur of dealing with Grimm, White Fang members, more Grimm, and the occasional bar fight. _Just another day's work._ That's why this moment of just me and only me was a welcomed change of pace.

I brought out a pack of cigarette from my inner breast pocket and lit one up. I exhaled, and the smoke billowed out of my mouth in a small cloud. _Ah, that's the stuff._ I could feel the tension on my shoulders dissipating with every smoke and I slowly relaxed. My world started to clear and I _saw_ where I was for the first time.

The Vacuoan desert landscape was unforgivingly cold at night and by day, torturously hot. Total extremes—something that perfectly described the people of the land too. Vacuo was a total hodgepodge: humans, faunus, rich, poor, civilians, military, etcetera. _I liked it._ But of course, this kind of environment just invited people with less than desirable motives. With this many people on the cities, thieves found it easier to do their thing and others, well… let's just say it's like a dream come true.

A January breeze blew towards me, chilling me to the bone. And it didn't help that I was standing on the roof of some fancy ass building in the middle of the night.

Why, you might ask.

Simply put, I was waiting for a _friend_. A friend that had finally arrived based on the chill I felt down my spine. Behind me, a grey-haired, green suit-wearing man stood with his hands resting on his cane.

I flicked the cigarette butt away and turned to face my _friend_.

"What do you want, Ozpin?" I asked with a condescending smile.

He looked at me with a calm and friendly gaze. But his eyes screamed _"I know something you don't'_ , a look I despised with all my soul. I nearly stormed off. But I couldn't. _Not yet, at least._ I needed to know why he was here first.

"…I need a bodyguard. For my school," he said plainly. I chuckled slightly.

"I don't do guard duty, Oz. You know that," I replied with a smile.

His face turned serious before saying the next two words.

"They're back."

My expression changed from playful to professional in seconds. _They're back?_ That could only mean one thing: he's desperate. Ozpin will need all the firepower he can get his hands on… including me.

"Wow," I clapped my hands in mock congratulations and went back to my original childishness as I tried to provoke the man. "You must be really desperate to be coming to poor old me, eh, Ozzie?" And then a memory resurfaced—a memory of a time gone by, of scarlet and bronze, of kisses and love…

I turned serious and said the words Ozpin hated hearing.

"Are you sure this isn't just you being paranoid again? You know what happened the _last time_ you were paranoid…"

Ozpin turned around and started to walk away from me.

"Yes, I do. And I don't _intend_ to _forget_ lest I lose someone important… again," he replied without looking at me. But I knew what kind of expression was painted on that calm and battle-hardened face: _anger._

I was about to let him walk away, but the logical part of my brain was still functional. And it was telling me to help the man… for old time's sake.

"…So what's my mission?" I inquired. Ozpin paused and turned his head slightly.

"You'll be coming in as a school staff. I'll give you the details when you get to Beacon. And brush up on your social skills, Mr. Arc. You'll need it," the man said with a tinge of amusement in his voice. He opened the exit door and bright light greeted him. He stepped inside the portal and Ozpin disappeared completely. And just like that, I was alone. _Again._

I leaned on the railings and gazed upon the shattered moon, its light a reminder of how cold and long the night was. By dawn, I'd have to be ready to move again, and this time towards Vale's combat training school, Beacon Academy, my alma mater. I have to acclimate myself there again before the new semester starts. I need to prepare a lot of things especially if I have to blend in. And that thing Ozpin said about brushing up on my social skills… that worried me.

I heaved a sigh, totally forgetting this was supposed to be a night of relaxation for me. But as the saying goes: _Evil never sleeps._

…God knows I tried.

Chapter 1 coming soon! See you... :)


	2. Where Did It All Begin

Author's Note:

Dear reader,

This is my first time, and I know that's not an excuse, but please bear with me. If you have any, ANY reactions at all, comment and/or review. I love getting feedback from my readers. And in the end, it helps both parties, right?

Oh, and disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.

RNicht out.

 _00000_

" **Where Did It All Begin?"**

It's bright tonight. The moonlight descended on Beacon with a grand shower, illuminating but the surface of the campus leaving nothing but shadows on the ground. It's windless; no rustling trees, no noise—only the silence. If anything were to move now, it would disturb this pristine quiet that I so desired.

 _If anything were to move now, they'd be dead._

I was sitting on top of Beacon's new CCTS building. The structure was quite tall, perfect for doing surveillance and hiding during work. I leaned on the roof's parapets as I tried to relax and do my job. I closed my eyes, and concentrated my Aura to all my senses. It then absorbed everything around me within a one mile radius—every living thing, every breathing creature, every sleeping man, woman, and child. It's like I could hear them. I could feel them.

I learned this trick so I could kill my enemies faster. I didn't think I could also use it to do guard duty.

Ozpin hired the right guy for the wrong job. I'm not a guard. I'm not a teacher. Hell, I'm not even a Hunter. Ozpin wasn't thinking straight when he made this decision. _We're not even friends… at least, not anymore._ So why pick me?

I felt a small disturbance, and I immediately focused my attention to it.

A girl just stirred in her sleep, a girl with black and red hair. It's her usual nightmares and the third time this week. Maybe I should talk to her sometime, or treat her to a cup of coffee… or maybe cookies. _No, that'd be weird._ _Besides, I haven't talked to her since…_

I sighed inwards. Jaune Arc, teacher by day, and a peeping pervert by night. I should be in Mistral by now enjoying the good life; instead I'm stuck here dealing with a bunch of brats and a violent blonde bombshell, all because Old Man Ozzie needed someone to hold his hand in the dark.

Sometimes, I just ask myself: how did I even get here?

 _00000_

 ** _One month ago, Beacon_**

I was sitting in Ozpin's office, talking with him about a _mission_. He visited me in Vacuo more than a week ago, asking me to be a bodyguard for Beacon. Of course, he didn't tell me the details back then—details that were far more important than the job itself, like how I needed to protect my head from getting blown off by an angry blonde woman with a metal arm.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Yang screamed.

"Nice to see you too, Yang," I answered with a smile.

Those were the first words I heard from Yang since god-knows-when. The moment Yang entered the room and saw me, her jaw dropped, dropping the documents she was holding. She was really surprised for a moment and then her face contorted to an expression that screamed 'I really, REALLY want to punch you in the face'.

To say Yang was shocked to see me was an understatement. We used to be close, but… let's just say, we had a bit of a falling-out. I did something in the past, something… bad. I made a promise to her, one I really wanted to keep. But as it turned out, I'm not a promises guy.

Yang looked like she was about to explode. She was livid. Her hair was starting to glow and heat seemed to emanate from her body. She was about to attack me in my seat when Ozpin intervened.

"Miss Xiao Long. What are you doing here?"

He said those words with so much pressure and seriousness that Yang immediately froze in her step.

"Sir, that man is— Why is he here?!" she asked angrily. Ozpin kept quiet in his seat, sipping his mug of coffee.

"Sir?! Are you—he's not supposed to be here! What is Jaune doing at Beacon?!" she grilled. Ozpin put down his mug.

"This is a private conversation, Miss Xiao Long. One I intend to continue once you are gone," he said with the same serious tone he used to stop her from possibly injuring me.

There was a look of bewilderment in Yang's face. My presence there, Ozpin's sudden coldness—it all punched Yang in the head. She couldn't process it. Confused and still wanting to talk back, but afraid Ozpin might actually get angry, she just straightened herself and said, "Excuse me, Headmaster. That was disrespectful. I'm sorry."

With that, she glared daggers at me before stomping away. Ozpin and I watched as she closed the big oaken doors, completely disappearing from sight.

Ozpin looked at me as soon as Yang was gone.

"You still haven't told her?" he asked.

I gave him a sideway glance. He's talking about that night—the night when everything changed for me.

"…She doesn't need to know. Besides, I'm pretty sure her sister will tell her eventually," I replied. Ozpin didn't seem convinced but he nodded with that.

"So, as I was saying before Miss Xiao Long interrupted, I want you to teach Battle Tactics and Strategies. It'll be your cover for the duration of my request," he said.

I slouched on the chair I was sitting on, and leaned my head back. I sighed.

"Seems like a drag, Ozpin. I don't think I can teach some kids, protecting them no less, while also doing the mission. I think you're overestimating my capabilities," I said. "I'm not god."

"It's precisely because of your skills that I'm hiring you," he said trying to convince me to stay. "Of all your other batch mates, you have the highest chance of accomplishing this _mission_. No. You are the only one who _has_ a chance."

With that, I drummed my fingers on the couch's arm, trying to think about Ozpin's earlier proposal.

 _It's dangerous. If I did this, the Kingdom of Vale would brand me a traitor, placing a bounty on my head. I'd be willingly making myself a wanted man. Everything I love would be put into danger. I would have to run for the rest of my life. Am I prepared to do that?_

My instincts were saying no. It was screaming at me to just run away, to just escape it all. And my brain was saying the same thing. That rarely happens. And when it does happen, the two are usually right.

Ozpin looked at me with desperation. "I need someone… I can trust."

Trust— the word sends a pang of annoyance into my body. I couldn't even trust him. Of all the things in the world Ozpin couldn't be, that was 'trusted'. I put my faith in him once. And he destroyed that faith, when he put _her_ in the line of fire. I'd moved on from the memories of that attack 10 years ago, but that event made me lose my trust on Ozpin _forever_. And now, he's here, begging for me to help him because I was the only one he could _trust._ _The irony._

If not for the fact that this mission involved someone I cared deeply about, I would have rejected his offer just to spite him. But, I'm 27. I think I've grown mature enough to know the right answer for this one.

I stood up, stretched, and walked towards the office windows.

"So," I exhaled. "I'll be risking my life and the life of everyone I care about, to save one life… I _really_ care about. Is that right, Ozzie?"

I could feel the sigh of relief that escaped his mouth and the smile that formed on his lips.

"Yes. That's right," he replied as he stood from his seat and walked to my side. With my hands crossed over my chest and Ozpin sipping coffee from his mug, we both looked outside, surveying the view before us, looking further and further towards the future. A future we both knew would be wrought with storms and conflict.

A future that's uncertain and dark, yet possibly bright.

 _00000_

 ** _Present time_**

That was the last time I talked to Ozpin. Now, we just talk over the phone through secure lines and encrypted chat rooms. We had to diminish physical contact otherwise someone could get smart and catch wind of our… _small operation._

As I rested on the roof, contemplating about life and thinking about what to teach my class tomorrow, I felt a sudden movement, 300 meters away. I stood up, fully alert, trying to identify the intruders.

A 12-man squad—4 had guns, 3 were dust users, 3 had bladed weapons, and two were unknowns. Those two were probably the leaders. I couldn't feel them completely. They knew how to hide their presence well. They all wore matching black clothes with no emblems—obviously mercs. All of their guns were suppressed, intended for quick insertion and exit. They'd divided into two 6-men group, probably one for engagement and one for target acquisition.

I scoffed. _Effective but too simple._

 _Oh, what do you know? There goes tomorrow's class._

I jumped on top of the parapet, standing on it. I took a jumping stance, aiming for the location of the intruders. They're closer now, around 250 meters. _Yeah, I can make that jump._

I poured all the strength on my legs, feeling the burn below my waist. And then I leapt.

The parapets broke due to the force of the build-up, but I was already in the air. Unsheathing my sword Crocea Mors, my trajectory went from upwards to downwards. I was like a comet hurdling from the heavens. _And when I fall, these guys will feel it._

Quickly scanning for my first target, I readied my body, planning on killing him with the incoming impact from the fall. I found one of the two unknowns: a medium built guy, probably around 40, with a beret on his head and was holding a radio on one hand and a long-barrelled pistol. I immediately aimed my landing spot on top of him. Poor guy didn't even see me coming. The last view he saw were the soles of my dark brown laced boots.

I stood up from my landing position; a small crater had formed at my feet. The group leader's head was splattered on the ground, oozing brain matter and blood in the process. I stepped off of him, creating a _squish-squish_ sound. I stretched in front of the men, trying to relax my joints before the fight. The five men were frozen in shock, not knowing what to do. They were mumbling and shaking in fear. And then, one of them fired.

The shot hit me square in the chest. It was a panic fire, but still, props to the guy for being quite accurate. The bullet got embedded half an inch into my skin. Using my free hand, I used it to forcefully extract the still warm bullet off my chest. Blood gushed out of the wound which almost immediately coagulated. I flicked the bullet, shaking my head while doing so.

That's when all hell broke loose.

My enemies opened fire. Upon quick assessment, two were using guns, another two had bladed weapons and one had a bo staff. The staff user had a panicked look on his face, accentuated by his shiny bald head. He started to conjure an ice wall, probably planning on imprisoning me in the process. The two gun users (total beefcakes with suppressed assault rifles) switched to dust rounds and started aiming at my head. The remaining two, twins by the look of it, wielding double-edged swords, dashed in to engage me in close quarter combat. _They plan on overwhelming me with their simultaneous attacks, eh…_

 _Too bad I saw through it._

I dove into the fray. First, the baldy; I zoomed past the guns and blades, and headed straight for the guy's open throat. His ice summoning stopped. I could feel the moment the edge of my sword cut through the flesh, spraying blood into the night air. The guy fell on his knees clasping his jugular, desperately trying not to drown as his lungs filled with his own blood. But the futility of it all reached him, and he died on the spot.

I raised my sword to parry an attack from the twins. They don't want to give me another chance to attack. I used my armguards as a shield; unable to bring out my blade's sheath into the fight, I was having a hard time dealing with the two's flurry of attacks. More so, since the two gun users were now on one knee and were firing from the hip. The two beefcakes were surprisingly accurate but the bullets were more annoying than painful since my Aura was basically tanking all their damage.

I had just about enough of it and so I retaliated. I found a small opening in the twins combined attack and I exploited it. As their blades came down for another strike, I caught it with my armguards and I attacked their unprotected chests with a slash from my sword. Instinctively, the two dodged my obvious attack, back-flipping almost at the exact same time. Their retreat gave me just enough time to deal with the two annoying bulls still firing at me with their little guns.

I dashed inside one of the beefcake's guard, swatting his machine gun to the side and hitting him in the jaw with the pommel of my sword. He fell to the ground unconscious. I quickly spun around, swinging my sword into a big arc, slashing the other gun user from the shoulders to his left lung. He dropped his weapon and tried to remove the embedded blade on his body. He slacked and the weight of his body falling to the ground removed him from my sword. I went back to the one I knocked unconscious and drove my sword into his skull. _Three down, two to go._

The blade users had already recovered but stopped attacking since a few moments ago, still reeling from the quick death of their companions. The two looked at one another and nodded, agreeing at _something._ The twins started to circle around me, flanking me on both sides. A pincer attack—rudimentary but efficient, it's one of the hardest attacks to dodge. Ren taught me how to dodge one before but the lesson didn't stick. I wasn't nearly as fast or as agile as him.

The two come at me with their swords raised and killing intents high. They're fast and skilled. I wouldn't be able to dodge in time. And so I did the unexpected: I turned my body to face their incoming blades, giving them a clear shot at my unarmoured chest.

The first of two blades entered from the small of my back straight to my diaphragm. The second one came in diagonally from my stomach to my spine. I looked like a kebab if kebabs were to be skewered at both ends.

Blood gushed out of the swords entry points. The red liquid climbed to my mouth, filling my lungs with it and drowning me in the process. As the heat from my body slowly drained, I gave the two blade users a grin, raising my free arm and giving them a thumbs up. As my vision went black and my consciousness started to fade, the last thing I could remember was a woman's gentle voice saying,

" _I love you Jaune… Please, don't do this."_

 **End.**

 _00000_

Yeeaah… As you may have noticed, I'm not very good at doing action scenes but I tried my best. I guess it's just that I've read a lot of stories with fight scenes before, and I think I've done my best, but I just can't seem to… get their way of writing a fight scene. But, well, I guess I'll just have to practice more, right?

Btw, I'm sorry it took too long to write this. Had to rewrite it over and over again to get the right mood I wanted. And if the summary tricked you into thinking this was an angst story about Jaune's reaction to Pyrrha's death, IT'S NOT. I mean, yes, her death affected Jaune, which in part was the START of this series. But I will be deviating from canon the moment Pyrrha's death was confirmed. And just so we're clear, the current timeline is ten years after her death.

So, yeah. :D

If you have any suggestions, comments, any reactions at all, please leave a review and/or PM me so I can help you. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 2 coming soon!


	3. Where Heroes Lie

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.

" **Where Heroes Lie"**

" _Don't do this, Jaune!" Ruby begged with tears in her eyes. "She deserves a second chance! We can help her!"_

 _The flames had reached my shoulder now, but I kept my hands on Cinder's throat. Her grip on my wrist tightened like a vise, enraging the fire around us and on my arm until the room felt like the inside of a furnace. The smell of ash, smoke, and burnt flesh invaded my nasal cavity. Everything hurt; my body felt like I had just gone through one of Master Shiro's 'endurance' training, and that training was tame by comparison._

 _But all of this pain was worth it. I had Cinder in the palm of my hands, and I was about to kill her._

 _I raised Cinder's body higher until she was nearly a meter off the ground. Her cries of pain and mercy didn't register into my brain. Her helpless figure and the expression of fear on her face made me happy. Finally. Finally, Pyrrha can rest in peace._

 _My expression was a mix of anger, excitement, and apprehension. But I kept reminding myself of the night I lost my light, until the only emotion left was pure hatred. I looked Cinder in the eye, wanting to see her soul fade as I squashed the very life out of her. Meanwhile, Ruby had already lost most of her strength and was on her knees, pleading to my humanity._

" _I love you, Jaune," Ruby cried. "I know this isn't you… You would never hurt anyone Jaune… Please… don't do this…"_

 _She looked like she was trying her best to stay calm, but her emotions had obviously gotten the best of her. I, on the other hand, was deadly serious. This moment was a dream come true. This was my 'wish'. Ruby would never understand…_

 _I turned to face Ruby's weakened state, and looked her in the eye._

"… _I'm sorry, Ruby," I replied with a shaky voice. "But I have to do this. I need to do this. For Pyrrha… For my team… For me…"_

… _For you, I thought._

 _I returned my gaze to Cinder's eyes, continuing where I'd left off. Slowly, I put more and more pressure into her throat, effectively cutting off her breathing. Her eye's widened from fear and pain. Her grip on my wrist weakened and the flames that surrounded us gently turned into a blue-ish white haze. She was starting to convulse in my arm, and then she slacked like a puppet without strings._

 _There was no sound except for Ruby sobbing. "No… Jaune… No…" she said in between sobs. She hung her head, her black hair covering her tear-stained face._

 _I dropped Cinder's body like a sack of cement. It's done. I had finally achieved my goal. Vengeance… was mine. I nearly cried from joy. It was at this moment that I began to survey the ground I stood upon._

 _Scorched. Bloody. Lifeless._

 _The room had been decimated. The only indication it was even a part of Salem's tower were the broken down walls and the open roof. I remembered destroying it during our fight with Salem and her crew. Now, it served as a stage: a podium from where my greatest and most gruesome action had just been shown to the whole world. With the shattered moon's light illuminating the whole chamber, I felt bare and naked._

 _I looked down. Blood had pooled at the base of my feet. I took a step back. That's when I saw me. A reflection…_

 _Through the pool of my own blood, I saw what I had become. I saw… something beastly. I saw… something destructive and foul. I saw… a monster._

 _I looked around me. The pile of eviscerated corpses and mangled limbs served as proof of the monster I had turned into. That's when I realized the sad truth: I did this. And now, Jaune Arc is no more._

 _I picked up a blood-stained Crocea Mors, and approached the red-caped girl. My blade's edge scraped against the ground, but I didn't care about sheathing my sword right now. It was heavy, as heavy as the guilt I felt in my chest as of that moment. I may have succeeded in my 'wish', but I had inadvertently sacrificed my friends for it. I had sacrificed Ruby for it. And now… there was no going back._

 _I walked with a heavy step until I stood next to a quiet, exhausted, girl. A girl who's words filled anyone who listened with boundless optimism. A girl who's strength and gentleness inspired the world to fight the evil at their doors. A girl who's innocence… I had just shattered. A girl, I was sure, I would never see in a long, long time._

 _I placed my hand on her head and ruffled her hair. And then I uttered the words I hated saying, fearing its inevitability._

"… _Goodbye, Ruby."_

 _00000_

My mind dipped in and out of consciousness. A memory resurfaced—a vision from times gone by, a page from my long forgotten past.

Everything was a haze. I remembered activating my Semblance, sure I was in control, but it appeared I wasn't. Weird, since the last time I went berserk with my Semblance was the night I killed Salem and Cinder. But I guess the memory my power seemed to have pulled out of my brain made sense. _Goddamn, Semblance side-effect…_

As a puddle of blood gathered at the soles of my feet, I woke up holding one of the twins by the throat 3 feet off the ground. His brother lay dead a few yards from where I stood, decapitated and losing a limb or two. The one I was holding struggled at my grasp, knowing full well he would end up like his dead brother if he didn't escape.

Disregarding my previous black out, I slowly tightened my press on his throat, shedding no emotion or regret while doing so. His body convulsed, and then a crackle of bones. Everything went still. Save for the hot liquid that snaked its way from my wounds down to the lake of blood that had formed underneath me, nothing moved.

I then grabbed the hilt of the sword still lodged onto my stomach and deftly pulled it out, the wound slowly closing and healing in the process. Using the sword, I impaled the guy through the heart just to be sure he was truly dead.

I dropped the corpse, piling him on top of his brother. _First group down, one more to go…_

I reached for the other sword embedded on my back. It took me a few seconds to finally be able to remove it completely. My clothes were a bloody mess. As my wounds closed, I checked for the other group. Focusing my aura onto my senses, I scanned the campus for hostiles.

I found them 50 meters away, entering Beacon's Alumni Hall. _It looks like I was right. They are the target acquisition group. And their target is most likely…_

I grabbed Crocea Mors and sheathed it inside my shield. _I better hurry. I can't let them reach her…_

 _00000_

If not for the fact that the Alumni Hall had 10 floors and no elevators, the 6 hostiles would have reached their target's room by now. Unfortunately, the building did have 10 floors and no elevators. I've never been more thankful for such an inconvenient structure before.

Knowing that their target was at the far end of the 8th floor, normally, I'd follow them through the Hall's entrance and run through seven flights of stairs just to catch up to them. But I figured that would put me on a temporal and geographical disadvantage. I'd be way too late to stop them from reaching her, and they could use the upper floors as an exit. So, I did the next best thing.

I climbed the building through the side.

Using the window sills as hand holds, I climbed the building's wall like a certain blonde monkey I knew. _Sun really did have the best climbing skills among us. No wonder he used to visit the girls through the window._

I could see my enemies going up the stairs through the paned glass. _Fourth floor, fifth floor, sixth floor…_

I climbed faster. When I arrived at the eighth floor's hallway window, I found it locked. _Unlucky_. Using my Aura, I heated my palms into a red glow and used it to melt the glass. Breaking it would have been easier but the noise could wake the whole building. People wake up, they see strangers at their door, and they panic. The ensuing panic could attract Grimm. It would be too much of a hassle if that happened. _Too much work…_

I opened the windows and jumped inside the hallway. Just in time to see the 6 bogeys arrive at the opposite end of the hall. They weren't even breathing hard. I guess the stairs weren't too much of a problem to them.

So there we were: six people standing ten meters away from their target's room, and only one person present to stop them from doing so. _I love it…_

I found their leader, which was now signalling his team something. 'Prepare for close combat. No noise.' _Heh, just as planned. This'll be fun._

The hallway was a narrow yet sizable eight feet, and the only way through was me. I knew they either had to use guns to supress me, or engage me in close combat. Both ideas were stupid, but the leader chose the idea that was at least less stupid than the other.

The gun users dropped their weapons and brought out doubled-edged combat knives. The two dust users used dust to imbue their daggers. The lone blade user had a khopesh and was standing beside their leader. _Last line of defense, huh._

A smug smile formed on my face. _Yeah, this'll be fun._

I removed my black suit, revealing a bloody white shirt underneath. I rolled the sleeves up and cracked my neck and knuckles. With that, I raised my arms and signalled my enemies: _come._

The two gun users spurred to life. The two were medium built and had a spring to their feet. They were surprisingly quick. _That means they were well trained._ One had a mean look on his face coupled with a simple handlebar moustache. The other one had long hair and accompanying sideburns, both lush and golden, making his hair look like a lion's mane.

The two synergized well with each other. When one attacked from the top, the other attacked from the bottom. Attacks came from all sides. Their knife slashes were quick and deadly. They were definitely good fighters.

 _But not good enough._

I saw an incoming stab from Handlebar. Sideburn was going to follow up with a stab to my right blindside. I moved. I caught Handlebar's arm and dragged him just enough to protect me from Sideburn's attack. His attack hit Handlebar, lodging the knife hilt deep into his throat. Sideburn's eyes widened in shock. I took that as an opportunity to swipe at his unguarded jugular using Handlebar's own knife. The two died on the spot instantly, spilling blood all over the hallway's red carpet floors. _Ugh… Velvet's gonna kill me._

Four remained. I could smell fear from them now. Next, the dust users: two plain-looking guys with glasses. _Do all dust users have the same nerdy look on them? I swear they all look the same to me._

The two came at me with more caution than the two dead guys before them. Unable to stand it any longer, I took the offensive. I dashed towards them with blinding speed, planning to kill the two in one slash. Unfortunately, it was my turn to be surprised.

The two nerds had barriers. And as if that wasn't enough, Handlebar's knife broke on impact with their shield. _The nerds came prepared, I see._ Nerd 1 came at me with his one foot long single-edged dagger. His slashes were quick and agile. _Again, well trained._ I tried counter attacking, but a shield stopped me from even reaching him. Nerd 2 was using his Semblance to protect the guy! Nerd 1 attacked again, this time reaching me and slashing me on my right shoulder. Suddenly, the wound burst into flames. _Fucking Hell... Burn dusts!_

The pain made me clumsy. I lost composure. Nerd 1 took it as an opportunity to end the fight. He slashed diagonally upwards. He got my chest, and the smell of burning flesh exploded into the air. _Argh!_ Next, my left arm. And then my left shoulder too. I swung my fists wildly, wanting to push him back. He didn't. Next, a stab to the liver area. And then another diagonal attack on the chest, creating a giant X mark on my body. Blood and then smoke sprayed from the wound. These attacks weren't intended for quick kills. They were for inflicting as much damage and pain to the enemy. It was intended for fucking torture. _I REALLY can't let them reach her._

I jumped back after Nerd 1's last attack. I was breathing heavily from that last fight. The two nerds had really smug looks on their face now. These guys… I underestimated them. _I can't believe they had someone like these two guys with them. I can't be chill about this anymore. Time for me to get serious._

I breathed deeply, controlling my Aura and efficiently healing my wounds. It took about a minute to properly heal them all, but it still stung a little specially on the inside. The nerds readied themselves to attack again, but now they had more confidence on their faces. It was annoying. _God, I'm going to make these two little shits pay for that._

I grabbed Sideburn's knife and pulled it free from Handlebar's bloody neck. It looked like a miniature sword: long, thin and flat. It had serrations on the blade near the guard. For a ten-inch knife, it looked really decent. _Perfect for two decent nerds…_

With me armed and my wounds gone, I taunted the two to come at me. I pretty much understood what the two nerd's weakness was, and so I wanted to end the fight as quick as possible. _This time… I'll be the one inflicting pain._

Nerd 1 inched himself towards me. Slowly but carefully, he watched my every move with utmost attention, not wanting to let me out of his sight. A plan formulated on my mind. _I have to be fast. I need to be faster than Nerd 2's Semblance._

Nerd 2 was currently standing three feet behind Nerd 1. Close enough for him to respond to one of my immediate attacks on his partner, but far enough to be safe from the actual fighting. It was a good formation—a formation I was about to exploit. What I needed to do was to place myself in between the two partners and then attack from there. That narrow space of three feet would be the perfect spot for me to counter-attack.

With Sideburn's knife in hand, I dashed towards Nerd 1. Instinctively, Nerd 2 used his Semblance, creating a domed shield around his partner. Suddenly, I sidestepped and changed directions, charging towards Nerd 2 instead. I was right in front of him now, squarely between him and his partner. Nerd 2 hesitated from the ambush but quickly recovered because he suddenly set up a shield around him by reflex. Unfortunately, that's what I was waiting for. In Nerd 2's doing so, he left his partner undefended from the back.

Shock had always been one of the greatest enemy in terms of controlling Aura and Semblance. Once concentration was broken, Aura and Semblance control always plummeted downwards. This was a fact I wanted to exploit during the fight.

Because of Nerd 2's loss of concentration, his first instinct of protecting himself first overcame his mind. Because of that, he left his friend unshielded and vulnerable to attacks. Arguably, it was a small mistake. But I capitalized on that small mistake.

Using Nerd 2's shield as a springboard, I launched myself upwards, doing a backflip and landing onto Nerd 1's open head. Using my weight as a hammer, I drove Sideburn's knife into Nerd 1's skull like a nail on a coffin. I then jumped off of him, also pulling my knife clean off his head. A fountain of red liquid sprayed from the hole on top of his head. He looked like a dying whale being hunted for its blubber.

Nerd 2 fell on his ass and his shield was still up. As I walked over to him, his shield flickered on and off. His face was of abject terror. He'd run out of Aura. There was nothing—nothing—to save him now from pain and death. I strode to his side, and then plunged the ten-inch knife straight to his heart. He clasped my hands, trying to push the blade away. That's when I twisted the knife like a screw. He stopped moving after that. I pulled the knife free, and blood dripped from the small tool.

From my position, I looked at the two remaining hostiles. They were slowly backing away, looking like they'd just realized they stepped into the wrong school. The guy with the beret pushed the blade user towards me. The guy had a fearful look on his face, but apparently, the guy was more obedient to his leader rather than scared of me. _I don't like that. It pisses me off…_

I attacked the two cowering idiots. The khopesh wielder raised his sword instinctively but was clearly scared since he basically closed his eyes while doing so. _That's more like it._ Instead of going for the blade user's head, I appeared behind the group leader's back and deftly placed my blade on his throat. He couldn't even move or speak, not even to pull his pistol from its holster. From my position, I looked at the blade user's eyes, and he locked eyes with mine. I gave him a savage grin and finally slit the leader's throat, spewing blood on to the blade user's own face.

The guy dropped his sword and fell on his face in a kneeling position, begging for his life in inaudible mutterings. The guy was lucky. If not for the fact I needed one of them alive, I would have slaughtered him too. I pulled him up from his shoulders so that our faces were on the same level. The guy had started crying rivers. His incessant sobbing could wake the building.

I raised a finger to my lips, signalling him to be quiet. It didn't work though. I did it again, but the guy couldn't stop himself. _Last resort then. Sorry bud, but this will hurt._ I punched him in the gut, drawing blood and evicting air from his lungs. The guy dropped unconscious like a sack of sand.

Everything was quiet again. I did a sensory scan on the building. _Looks like everyone's still asleep._ I walked over to my suit and pulled my Scroll from its inner breast pocket. I flipped it open and the bluish white light washed over me. However, blood also washed over my Scroll's screen. _Shit…_ I used my other hand to clean it but I just ended up smearing the blood all the more. I then used a clean portion of my white shirt and used that to clean the screen, at least partially so I could actually see the screen.

Going through my contacts, I scrolled down until I reached letter V, for Velvet Scarletina. I didn't wait long as Velvet answered almost immediately.

"…Where?" Velvet asked.

"Alumni Hall, 8th floor. Bring a change of carpets," I replied in a half whisper. I could hear her groan on the other side before she hung up.

I grabbed my suit and slung it over my shoulder. I walked over to the window I entered from before. The shattered moon's bright light cast a spotlight on me, refreshing my mind. _I need a smoke to top this night._ From my jean's left pocket, I took out a crumpled box of cigarettes. I pulled one from the pack but came out empty. I ripped the box open and found nothing. _Ah, fuck._ I crumpled the paper package and threw it out. I went back to the dead bodies that now lined the hallway. I searched them all for a pack of smokes and was lucky enough to find one from Nerd 1. _Weird…_

"… This could kill you, y'know?" I said to the corpse in a nonchalant manner, waving the pack of cigarettes over his dead eyes.

I walked back to the open window with the cigarettes in hand. I pulled one from the package, and lit one up. I placed it on my mouth and inhaled the damn thing. _Ah, that's the stuff._

I leaned on the window sill, staring up at the night sky. The stars twinkled brightly as if congratulating me on another honest day's work. _Yeah, right._ I blew cloud after cloud of smoke into the air, watching it scatter in the breeze. I relaxed for a while, waiting for Velvet and her clean-up crew. I looked at the bloody carpet on the floor. A worried smile crept to my face. _Oh man, Velvet's gonna chew me up, isn't she…_

 _00000_

Forty-five minutes—that's all it took for Velvet's team to clean-up the mess I made. It took them 10 minutes to get here, 25 to wrap and carry the corpses out, and another 10 minutes to change the carpets, clean the floors, and to disinfect the whole damn place. If there was anything to describe Velvet's cohort, it'd be meticulous and efficient.

Velvet strode in with a bunch of guys (and gals, probably) in black suits, cleaning up everything in a matter of time. Velvet gave orders through an earpiece as everyone did their work silently and thoroughly. They also took khopesh guy, putting him in a stretcher before carrying all the bodies away. With the mess done and the hall smelling like lemon zest, Velvet finally approached me with a really scary look on her face.

I raised my arms in surrender. "Before you say anything… I'm sorry," I said gently.

She kicked me in the balls. My stomach did a somersault with that. I fell on my knees as I clasped my jewels, sending Aura into them in order to mitigate the pain at least. I could barely open my mouth to say anything. _God, this Faunus packs a mean kick._

"I told you, Jaune," she said smugly in her posh accent. "I told you your bollocks would pay if you dirtied those carpets."

I raised a finger as I tried my best to stand up after her attack. "I-I'm sorry… Velvet," I breathed erratically. "Won't… do it… again," I promised.

"Next time you do this, say goodbye to your 'little friend'," she said threateningly, emphasizing 'little friend' with air quotes. I nodded, panicking at the mere thought. It took a few minutes before my testicles finally stopped hurting. Velvet's Scroll vibrated, probably a call from one of her people. She kept her gaze on me while she answered the call.

"Velvet, talk to me," she said. Another girl's voice answered on the other side of the call.

"… Okay. Thank you, Selene. Keep the guy well taken care of, yeah? I'll bring Jaune to interrogate him later," she replied. More voices.

"…Her?" Velvet's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, the bloke… wasn't a man?"

That statement made my own eyebrows rise. _Khopesh guy? Huh. I thought his chest was too plump but…_ The voice confirmed our thoughts.

"…Okay then. Um, take care of… her. Jaune will talk to her later," Velvet ordered and then hung up. She looked at me.

"Get the info we need. And then let her go," Velvet commanded.

I took a cigarette from the package and lit it up but my Faunus colleague suddenly jerked it out of my mouth and threw it out the window.

"Hey!" I yelped.

"Let… her… go. Understood?" Velvet pressed. I groaned and rolled my eyes. Velvet narrowed her eyes, her gaze daggers. I caved in three seconds.

"Fine," I replied. "But I decide how to interrogate her." Velvet nodded. With that she turned around and slowly walked away. I was about to follow, but I paused. Velvet noticed and looked back to me.

"What is it?" she asked.

"…Can you… go first? I'll follow in a few minutes," I said gently. Velvet hesitated and then smiled.

"…Okay," she replied. "Try not stay too long. It's 1 am. Nothing good happens after 1 am," she winked at me before walking away. When she disappeared down the stairs, I turned and walked towards the end of the hall. There, two wooden double doors signalled the entrance to a guest room marked 'VIP: DO NOT DISTURB'. Inside, a person rested… the same person the 12 previous guys wanted to acquire.

Inside the room slept Ruby Rose, Saviour of Remnant.

I opened the doors as gently as I could. I entered the room and was immediately greeted by the smell of roses, baked cookies, and... Is that milk? I chuckled silently. Girl never changed.

The room was like a kindergarten's play area. Clothes were scattered all around, dust containers were all over the place, and a brown backpack sat by the end of bed. Crescent Rose was in its scythe form, and was leaning on the wall next to an open window. The curtains danced from a light breeze that had wafted into the room. On the bed lied an unconscious Ruby, black tank top, her blanket almost slipping off of her, leaving her upper body vulnerable to the cold.

I walked over next to her bed and stood before her peacefully resting body. Her soft and gentle breathing put me on a trance. I went down on one knee so my face was directly in front of hers.

"…Nice to see you again, Rubes," I whispered to her sleeping form. "I know… I've been avoiding you… ever since you came here. I know… you've been looking for me. I know… you miss me. And I miss you too."

She kept her hair short, in memory of her mother. Her black hair with red tips looked really good on her child-like face. Her cute nose made me want to touch it. I didn't, of course.

"But ten years has been a long time, Rubes. I may not be the Jaune you're looking for anymore."

I caressed her cheeks with my hand, smearing some blood on her face. I shook my head. I looked at my hands. Both were caked with nearly dried blood. I sighed.

 _I'm definitely not the Jaune you're looking for._

I slowly stood up, about to leave, when suddenly someone grabbed my shirt. Ruby reached out her hand and got a hold of my shirt's sleeve. Suddenly, she spoke, her voice asleep yet knowing.

"Jaune…"

I closed my eyes.

"Please don't go…"

I shouldn't. I know I shouldn't. But I have to. _Evil corrupts anything it touches._ I hurt you once already. I can't put you through that again.

I took her hand and kissed it. I then placed it on her side and pulled the blanket up towards her neck. Ruby shifted to make herself more comfortable. I turned around and walked away.

"I love you…" Ruby whispered. I hesitated when I heard that. I looked back and smiled at the resting Reaper.

"…I love you…" I replied reflexively.

Locking the doors to her room, I walked to the window I entered before and jumped on the sill. Breathing in the atmosphere, I gazed at the shattered moon and smiled. _Tonight was a good night._

I jumped.

 **End.**

 _00000_

Sorry for the length and the late update.

Okay first thing's first: expect this series to be a short one, around 10-15 chapters only. The reason for this is primarily because of my own weakness. I simply CANNOT multi-task. Writing two stories at once is AT MOST what I can do. I swear to God, if I could write more stories at once, I would. But I can't. So I shan't. I hope you understand. Besides, I have a lot of ideas sitting on my shelf right now and I can't wait to write all of them.

Second, let me address the flashbacks. Um, honestly, I don't know how to write an effective flashback. *Laughs* But I think I got what the reviews meant (emphasis on 'I think'). Thank you, user Iathan Rellan. Expect a lot more flashbacks, btw. I need them to construct a proper picture.

Oh, and I'm not British so certain British words I used may be out of context or just plain wrong. I hope I didn't offend anyone.

Anyway, now that that's done, thank you for reading. And as always, react, review, or comment what you thought of this chapter. I appreciate any and all feedback from my readers. I swear you're actually helping me better my craft. Thank you!

Chapter 3 coming soon!


	4. Announcement

Dear Readers,

Salutations!

It is unfortunate, but Where Did We Go Wrong is going to be on an undefined hiatus.

I decided to do this because I didn't want to publish unfinished, unpolished, and unrefined stories. As of now, WDWGW has 5 unpublished chapters. I would like to finish another 5 or 7 more, publish all of them together, and then end it there. This also saves me a lot of time.

How long this will take me, I don't know. But rest assured, I want to finish this series.

I hope you understand.

Thanks,

RNichts


	5. Special AnnouncementUpdate

**Salutations Readers!**

It has been months since I've updated you on what's going on with this story. So here's what I have.

After months of constant writer's block and procrastination, I can proudly say the story is almost 75% done. But to further polish the story, I will have to rewrite the first and second chapters, just for consistency and flow check. I find the prologue to be perfect as it is now, thus no rewrite needed. I assure you this will still be the same story with the same plot. I just want to fix the first few chapters so as to create a more polished story. Because after rereading it, I found it to be... quite ambiguous and vague, even plotless.

So, try to be more patient while waiting for WDWGW. Besides, I wanna post three different stories soon-- "Homebound", a Jaune story which is going to be another heavy piece like WDWGW, a yet-to-be-titled Winter/Qrow romance fanfic, and lastly, a light slice-of-life type fanfic titled "One Day", which is basically going to be my drabbles and one-shot section.

Yes, I know it seems like I'm adding work instead of reducing it (cant multitask, remember) but I think this'll help me write better. Having multiple works of mine being checked and reviewed by people will tell me which works or not. So..yeah. :)

Anyway, thank you for being so patient. Until next time!

 **RNichts**


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